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Now in its twelfth year, the Gotham Storytelling Festival brings together diverse storytellers to do what they do best. Whether you’re looking to escape into someone else’s story, to commiserate with an artist or laugh out loud, Gotham has something for you. Join legendary hitters and new friends for an international event that’s sure to alleviate some of the year’s aches. Gotham is curated by storyteller Brad Lawrence and FRIGID New York’s Managing Director, Erez Ziv.
Stories from the Brink: my festive near death adventures
Written & Performed by Iris Bahr
One woman’s true tales of near death, unfiltered and in snackable form. Including, but not limited to: missile attacks, elder caregiving, a death in the wild, an incompetent Scottish physician, a pork-based Yeshiva childhood and a bomb shelter that smelled like peanuts.
American Rookie: Election Edition
Written & Performed by Dipti Bramhandkar
Part coming-of-age tale, part social commentary and part comedy, American Rookie is a powerful exploration of the immigrant experience in America. Inspired by Dipti Bramhandkar's own journey from Mumbai to Central New York State, the play vividly captures the joy, humor and challenges of assimilation. Through a blend of personal anecdotes and cultural observations, American Rookie brings to life the complex process of constructing a new American identity—touching on everything from the awkwardness of 90s fashion to the impact of Judy Blume and Nintendo on shaping a young immigrant's worldview. The story is about what it means to find one's place in a new world while holding onto the essence of where you come from.
The Tell
Hosted by Ronna Levy
The Tell is a storytelling show that invites the audience to experience a series of interwoven stories under one common theme. Five tellers move seamlessly from story to story, stories of varying lengths and formats such as the braided story, the 99-second story and the 5-minute-slam style story. Ultimately, this composition of interconnected stories, stories like puzzle pieces put together, reveals a larger overarching story.
The Brothers Orphan
Written & Performed by Jamie Brickhouse
Orphaned at ages 55, 54 and 46, brothers Ronny, Jeffrey and Jamie are thrown together after years living separate lives. As they sift through the family home, they return to their juvenile selves but their adult afflictions—addiction, resentments, mental illness—threaten to burn the house down. Told by the baby of the family, “natural raconteur” (Washington Post) Jamie Brickhouse, it’s a darkly comic tale about how he is left to be the adult of three, as he struggles to make hard decisions from who gets the silver to pulling the plug.
Jurassic Heartbreak
Written & Performed by Matt Storrs
Matt Storrs has never loved anything more than his first love: dinosaurs. After romantic rejection in elementary school, Matt copes by starting a movement to advocate for his favorite dinosaur and get the governor of Arizona recalled. Years later, after another failed romantic connection, a trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show puts Matt face to face with the illegal fossil trade. Matt unearths new knowledge that makes him question his first love. Will newfound knowledge allow him to forgive and find lasting love? You won’t have to wait 65 million years to find out.
On Cats and Dogs And Other Family Revelations
Written & Performed by Ella Veres
On Cats and Dogs and Other Family Revelations wraps big ideas in focused stories about Ella’s pets, offering glimpses of her human family and life in her place of birth, Transylvania, Romania. With her dark humor and heart, Ella takes audiences from her childhood under communist rule, to her present quirky experiences in East Harlem, using her dog and cat as reference points. The cast will feature Ella Veres and her companion dog, Pandele, who said she's in it not for fame, but to pay her vet bills. Rosamunda, her cat, was asked to perform but declined. She’d rather lounge under the sofa than be in the limelight.
The Genius of Being Stupid
Written & Performed by Keenan Scott II
Acclaimed Broadway playwright Keenan Scott II returns to FRIGID with his new autobiographical solo show, The Genius of Being Stupid. He navigates telling the story of his upbringing in Queens, New York and Waldorf, Maryland as he navigates being a special education student during his youth.
Where are they now? The GenX Edition
Hosted by Ria Spencer
Totally tubular tales from the original latch key kids gathered together to get through this thing called life. Brought to you by friendship pins, night sweats and women's comfort shoes.
Untitled Grandma Play: Piggy Boo
Written & Performed by Alex Hardin
A long-awaited tale of my grandma, generational abuse, the mafia and a haunted slot machine.
Mondays with Mandelbaum: Life Lessons from the first American crime boss
Written & Performed by Tracey Erin Smith
Mrs. Fredericka Mandelbaum was America's first great crime boss. A nice Jewish immigrant from Germany, Mandelbaum becomes the matriarch to the criminal elements of New York City in the Lower East Side. At the peak of her underground empire, law enforcement has her cornered and her time is running out. When playwright/performer Tracey Erin Smith finds herself in Mandelbaum’s criminal headquarters in 1884, New York, time and space collide. Each wrestling with their own connections to crime and family, these women swap tales, techniques of their trades and tons of tea. This time-bending story weaves Mandelbaum's criminal genius with the playwright’s true stories of a father who had his own dance with the law. It's a wild ride where truth and fiction have a fabulous fling.
Kate, Allie and the '86 Mets
Written & Performed by Kate Barry
Summer 1986, Long Island—THE hit sitcom, “Kate and Allie” is on the TV—Grace and Dorothy, two recently divorced best friends, see their own lives reflected back at them on the screen. Kate and Allie, also recently divorced best friends, have the brilliant idea of combining their households and solving all the problems of single motherhood under one roof. Grace and Dorothy turn to each other and ask, “Why don’t we do that?” And that is how they changed the trajectory of their families lives forever. Told through the perspective of the oldest (by 7 days) daughter of the 4 kids, this play weaves through decades of adventures, joys and challenges of growing up in a non-traditional family. Americans may have loved watching these dynamics on TV, but were they really ready for it, and the questions it raised in real life?
Truth in Love
Written & Performed by Walt Egbert
How do you find the truth in yourself when you've put all your energy into creating an image that will fit in with the world you live in? Are your family and friends invested in YOU or in your image? Walt grew up in the 70's and 80's as a closeted gay kid in the “monoculture” of Catholic suburban Long Island in a family that was Trumpy before Trump. He was raised on truths of the John Birch Society with copies of “None Dare Call it Conspiracy” and the Phyllis Schlafly newsletter around the house. While a student at an Ivy League university, he found himself actively recruited by Opus Dei. Everything Walt knew—his friends, his colleagues, his media exposure—was carefully curated to avoid exposure to anything that might call into question his decision to stay deeply closeted. The years that followed were surprisingly challenging: to continue to uncover the programming and internalized homophobia that would crop up unexpectedly in closets within closets. He couldn't just "come out" without finding the need to reassess his entire worldview.
Tissue
Written & Performed by Sarah Staines
After being injured and carrying scar tissue around since she was 3 years old, Sarah examines the experience of being injured, therefore being forced to examine the benefit and pain of having a body that heals, just very very slowly. Lessons learned from a hospital bed.
The Big Secret
Written & Performed by Brad Lawrence
Brad Lawrence was raised feral in the trashier parts of Missouri, America's trashiest state. And yet, as soon as he could, he flung himself into the world in spite of his total lack of life skills, education and good judgment. Somehow, through a combination of luck, a high pain threshold and the indulgence of more competent friends and partners, he has survived.
Stories from the Brink: my festive near death adventures
Written & Performed by Iris Bahr
One woman’s true tales of near death, unfiltered and in snackable form. Including, but not limited to: missile attacks, elder caregiving, a death in the wild, an incompetent Scottish physician, a pork-based Yeshiva childhood and a bomb shelter that smelled like peanuts.
American Rookie: Election Edition
Written & Performed by Dipti Bramhandkar
Part coming-of-age tale, part social commentary and part comedy, American Rookie is a powerful exploration of the immigrant experience in America. Inspired by Dipti Bramhandkar's own journey from Mumbai to Central New York State, the play vividly captures the joy, humor and challenges of assimilation. Through a blend of personal anecdotes and cultural observations, American Rookie brings to life the complex process of constructing a new American identity—touching on everything from the awkwardness of 90s fashion to the impact of Judy Blume and Nintendo on shaping a young immigrant's worldview. The story is about what it means to find one's place in a new world while holding onto the essence of where you come from.
The Tell
Hosted by Ronna Levy
The Tell is a storytelling show that invites the audience to experience a series of interwoven stories under one common theme. Five tellers move seamlessly from story to story, stories of varying lengths and formats such as the braided story, the 99-second story and the 5-minute-slam style story. Ultimately, this composition of interconnected stories, stories like puzzle pieces put together, reveals a larger overarching story.
The Brothers Orphan
Written & Performed by Jamie Brickhouse
Orphaned at ages 55, 54 and 46, brothers Ronny, Jeffrey and Jamie are thrown together after years living separate lives. As they sift through the family home, they return to their juvenile selves but their adult afflictions—addiction, resentments, mental illness—threaten to burn the house down. Told by the baby of the family, “natural raconteur” (Washington Post) Jamie Brickhouse, it’s a darkly comic tale about how he is left to be the adult of three, as he struggles to make hard decisions from who gets the silver to pulling the plug.
Jurassic Heartbreak
Written & Performed by Matt Storrs
Matt Storrs has never loved anything more than his first love: dinosaurs. After romantic rejection in elementary school, Matt copes by starting a movement to advocate for his favorite dinosaur and get the governor of Arizona recalled. Years later, after another failed romantic connection, a trip to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show puts Matt face to face with the illegal fossil trade. Matt unearths new knowledge that makes him question his first love. Will newfound knowledge allow him to forgive and find lasting love? You won’t have to wait 65 million years to find out.
On Cats and Dogs And Other Family Revelations
Written & Performed by Ella Veres
On Cats and Dogs and Other Family Revelations wraps big ideas in focused stories about Ella’s pets, offering glimpses of her human family and life in her place of birth, Transylvania, Romania. With her dark humor and heart, Ella takes audiences from her childhood under communist rule, to her present quirky experiences in East Harlem, using her dog and cat as reference points. The cast will feature Ella Veres and her companion dog, Pandele, who said she's in it not for fame, but to pay her vet bills. Rosamunda, her cat, was asked to perform but declined. She’d rather lounge under the sofa than be in the limelight.
The Genius of Being Stupid
Written & Performed by Keenan Scott II
Acclaimed Broadway playwright Keenan Scott II returns to FRIGID with his new autobiographical solo show, The Genius of Being Stupid. He navigates telling the story of his upbringing in Queens, New York and Waldorf, Maryland as he navigates being a special education student during his youth.
Where are they now? The GenX Edition
Hosted by Ria Spencer
Totally tubular tales from the original latch key kids gathered together to get through this thing called life. Brought to you by friendship pins, night sweats and women's comfort shoes.
Untitled Grandma Play: Piggy Boo
Written & Performed by Alex Hardin
A long-awaited tale of my grandma, generational abuse, the mafia and a haunted slot machine.
Mondays with Mandelbaum: Life Lessons from the first American crime boss
Written & Performed by Tracey Erin Smith
Mrs. Fredericka Mandelbaum was America's first great crime boss. A nice Jewish immigrant from Germany, Mandelbaum becomes the matriarch to the criminal elements of New York City in the Lower East Side. At the peak of her underground empire, law enforcement has her cornered and her time is running out. When playwright/performer Tracey Erin Smith finds herself in Mandelbaum’s criminal headquarters in 1884, New York, time and space collide. Each wrestling with their own connections to crime and family, these women swap tales, techniques of their trades and tons of tea. This time-bending story weaves Mandelbaum's criminal genius with the playwright’s true stories of a father who had his own dance with the law. It's a wild ride where truth and fiction have a fabulous fling.
Kate, Allie and the '86 Mets
Written & Performed by Kate Barry
Summer 1986, Long Island—THE hit sitcom, “Kate and Allie” is on the TV—Grace and Dorothy, two recently divorced best friends, see their own lives reflected back at them on the screen. Kate and Allie, also recently divorced best friends, have the brilliant idea of combining their households and solving all the problems of single motherhood under one roof. Grace and Dorothy turn to each other and ask, “Why don’t we do that?” And that is how they changed the trajectory of their families lives forever. Told through the perspective of the oldest (by 7 days) daughter of the 4 kids, this play weaves through decades of adventures, joys and challenges of growing up in a non-traditional family. Americans may have loved watching these dynamics on TV, but were they really ready for it, and the questions it raised in real life?
Truth in Love
Written & Performed by Walt Egbert
How do you find the truth in yourself when you've put all your energy into creating an image that will fit in with the world you live in? Are your family and friends invested in YOU or in your image? Walt grew up in the 70's and 80's as a closeted gay kid in the “monoculture” of Catholic suburban Long Island in a family that was Trumpy before Trump. He was raised on truths of the John Birch Society with copies of “None Dare Call it Conspiracy” and the Phyllis Schlafly newsletter around the house. While a student at an Ivy League university, he found himself actively recruited by Opus Dei. Everything Walt knew—his friends, his colleagues, his media exposure—was carefully curated to avoid exposure to anything that might call into question his decision to stay deeply closeted. The years that followed were surprisingly challenging: to continue to uncover the programming and internalized homophobia that would crop up unexpectedly in closets within closets. He couldn't just "come out" without finding the need to reassess his entire worldview.
Tissue
Written & Performed by Sarah Staines
After being injured and carrying scar tissue around since she was 3 years old, Sarah examines the experience of being injured, therefore being forced to examine the benefit and pain of having a body that heals, just very very slowly. Lessons learned from a hospital bed.
The Big Secret
Written & Performed by Brad Lawrence
Brad Lawrence was raised feral in the trashier parts of Missouri, America's trashiest state. And yet, as soon as he could, he flung himself into the world in spite of his total lack of life skills, education and good judgment. Somehow, through a combination of luck, a high pain threshold and the indulgence of more competent friends and partners, he has survived.
Performance Schedule:
Visit frigid.nyc/gotham for full schedule.
